Ackert: Didi Gregorius, heartbeat of the Yankees, is activated off the disabled list, but Aaron Boone will ease him back into everyday role

SEATTLE — Didi Gregorius was back Friday night. As expected, the Yankees’ shortstop was activated off the disabled list before the series opener against the Mariners at Safeco. But the shortstop was not in the lineup against the lefthander James Paxton.

“We’ll kind of ease Didi back in...you know, not having played any rehab games or anything like that,” Aaron Boone said. “The hope would be to get him in at some point (Friday night), and probably start him (Saturday) if everything goes well….not necessarily the whole game and just try to build him back.

“With September we have the bodies, we can get other guys in there and not be up against it,” the Yankees manager continued. “I am excited he’s back in the fold now, obviously as important as he is to this club.”

The Yankees have been scuffling and could use Gregorius, but Friday night, the manager waited until Paxton was done and got Gregorius in for the bottom of the sixth. He grounded out to second in his only at-bat of the night.

“We’re going to treat it like rehab, every couple days I play and then maybe a day off,” Gregorius said. “We haven’t figured out how long it’s going to be like that.”

Gregorius — who made a tremendous charging play on a ball deflected off the pitcher, though Luke Voit was unable to make the scoop at first base — said there is no pain in his heel.

“No, no, it felt really good,” Gregorius said. “I think adrenaline covers everything, just a fun time to be out there with the team.”

After missing 16 games and without any minor league rehab games to get his timing and stamina built back up, Boone felt he has to be careful getting the shortstop back in the lineup.

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Still, it has to be tempting to put such an important player right back in the mix at such a crucial point of the season.

“In a lot of ways, he’s one of the heartbeats of this club, he does so many things, he plays in the middle of the diamond, such a premium position as well as he does, he gives us a lefty presence somewhere in the middle of our lineup,” Boone said of Gregorius. “The little intangible things that he does so well; just as far as always being in the right spot, backing up, communication factor, captain of the infield out there.”

The Yankees need to steady the ship this weekend and get back on track if they are going to live up to the lofty expectations for this postseason. While the odds are still in the Bombers’ favor for a postseason appearance — after all, they still do hold a 3.5-game lead on those scrappy A’s for the top American League wild card spot — unless they tighten things up this could be a very short October in the Bronx.

“I want to get rolling, no question about it,” Boone said about the Yankees’ September struggles. “I think we’re doing some things well, we’re not certainly rolling like we are capable of. We’re starting to get some guys back, which is really important.”

Gregorius had a slash line of .270/.333/.482 with 22 homers and 74 RBI before he suffered a bruised left heel after a collision at first base in a game at the Stadium against the Blue Jays on Aug. 19.

While Adeiny Hechavarria, whom the Yankees picked up Aug. 31 to fill in while Gregorius was out, is a tremendous defensive shortstop, he just doesn’t have the same offensive abilities.

The Yankees need to spark their lineup and clean up their defense if they are going to finish this season strong.

“No question, we’ve got to play better, if we want to get to where we want to go, we’ve got to play better period,” Boone said. “We can talk about it, analyze or whatever, but we have the people in that room who are capable of getting this thing done and it’s time we start getting consistent and stringing together games and playing the way we are capable of playing.”

Getting Gregorius back in the lineup — and eventually Judge — will certainly make it a lot easier for the Yankees to live up to those expectations. Right now, however, Boone has to balance that with the need to ease them back and keep them healthy.